With the dedication and heroism displayed by nurses and other health care professionals combating COVID-19 still very much in the news, Iona College has announced the launch of a bachelor of science degree program in nursing.
Iona said that the program will help to meet the growing demand for registered nurses both locally and nationally. Iona has received official approval from the New York State Department of Education and says it is ready to accept its first class of students for the program that is set to begin this fall.
At the same time, Iona announced the appointment of Susan Apold, who most recently served as dean of the School of Health Science and Nursing at Concordia College in Bronxville, as the director of its program. Her career includes serving as a clinical professor of nursing at New York University Rory Meyers College of Nursing.
Apold is an alumna of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Executive Nurse Fellowship Program. She is a former president of both the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and the Nurse Practitioner Association New York State. Her academic degrees include a doctorate. She lives in New Rochelle, home to Iona.
“Dr. Apold”™s vision, experience and expertise will establish Iona as the college of choice for students looking for an elite nursing program that will prepare them to thrive in the growing field of nursing,” said Seamus Carey, Iona’s president.
Iona”™s nursing program will offer two pathways to a bachelor”™s degree: a traditional four-year undergraduate program; and an accelerated 15-month second-degree program for students who already have a bachelor”™s in another field. Both pathways will prepare graduates to take the National Certification and Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). The college is accepting applications for both pathways immediately.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics was projecting an average employment growth rate of 16.5% through 2028 for five nursing specialties, with projected employment for just the registered nurses sector reaching 3,431,300, and increase of 12% over about a decade. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing has warned that nursing school enrollment is not growing fast enough to meet the projected demand for nursing services.
Iona”™s nursing program will be housed in a 7,500-square-foot facility that is equipped with the newest equipment, technology and simulated learning opportunities. Small-group, clinical instructional settings with an 8-to-1 student-to-faculty ratio are planned.
“The nation needs more nurses, and I am so proud that Iona will be part of the solution,” Apold said.
